Referencing an icon of modernist architecture, the 1951’s Farnsworth House, this crisp, white detached house has been completed by Trace Architecture Office (TAO) who ‘stretched, looped and folded’ Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s famous one-room chef-d’œuvre. As a result, the Beijing-based architects have achieved a ‘smaller building depth with better views, introversive courtyard space offering more privacy, getting closer to water and accessible roof as extension of landscape.’ Offering serene, panoramic views thanks to the translucent glass façade, Riverside Clubhouse is located in the city of Yancheng, in a northeastern Jiangsu province, China – homeland of this years’s Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, Wang Shu. (more…)

Replacing an old school building which has been severely damaged and, consequently, demolished following the disastrous 2008 Sichuan earthquake, this austere, labyrinthine XiaoQuan Elementary School has been realised by a Beijing-based practice Trace Architecture Office (TAO). Intended to accommodate nearly 1000 students, this 8900-square-meters development is formed from ‘a cluster of small buildings’ such as classroom buildings, teacher’s office, student dormitory buildings, and a dining hall, all of which ‘create a small city, giving diversified space so as to enrich the children’s experience and activities.’ (more…)